#panam2018

Pan-Am's, Euro's Wrap Sunday in Peru, Russia

Saturday, May 5, 2018 - 23:47 By Tim Foley

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LIMA (May 5) – United World Wrestling concludes a busy week of championship competition Sunday with the final day of wrestling at the Senior Pan-American and Senior European Championships in Lima and Kaspiysk, respectively.

The Pan-American Championships will host a full day of men’s freestyle wrestling competition with eight weight categories going start to finish, while the European Championships are slated for bronze and gold medal finals in their final five men’s freestyle categories.

The European finals are highlighted by the heavyweight showdown between 2016 Olympic champion Taha AKGUL (TUR) and 2017 world champion Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO). The 125kg finale will be a rematch of last year’s world finals won by Petriashvili, 10-8. Many wrestling fans consider the duo’s 2017 clash to be the greatest heavyweight wrestling match in history.
 

 

The Euro finals will also feature 2012 Olympic champion Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) facing 2016 Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS). Both won their titles at 86kg, but are now testing their strength at the new non-Olympic 92kg weight category.

Sunday’s European gold medal finals begin at 6pm local:

61kg: Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) vs. Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS)

74kg: Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) vs. Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)

86kg: leksandr GOSTIYEV (AZE) vs. Artur NAIFONOV (RUS)

92kg: Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) vs. Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS)

125kg: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) vs. Taha AKGUL (TUR) 

 

The Pan-American Championships in Lima conclude Sunday with freestyle wrestling. Matches will be highlighted by a crop of top tier freestyle talent from powerhouse Cuba and defending world champion United States. Team USA will feature 2016 world champion Logan STIEBER (65kg), 2017 world silver medalist Thomas GILMAN (57kg) and 2017 world bronze medalist Nick GWIAZDOWSKI (125kg)

Wrestling in Lima begins at 10am CT

2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games

Oborududu Named Athlete Role Model for 2026 Dakar YOG

Monday, June 15, 2026 - 11:13 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 15) -- Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) was announced as one of the 36 Athlete Role Models for the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games.

Oborududu, a silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has been a stalwart in Nigerian sports and represented the country for close to two decades. In Tokyo, she made history by winning silver medal at 68kg in Women's Wrestling, becoming Nigeria’s first‑ever Olympic medallist in the sport.

The four-time Olympian was also a 14-tim African champion, a record that still stands. She compete at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and finished fifth.

The Athlete Role Models will provide mentoring and workshop training to young athletes on site during Dakar 2026. They will be on the ground in Senegal to engage with competing athletes, providing support and advice around competition and taking part in educational workshops. These workshops cover topics such as career management, injury prevention and mental preparation, among many other things.

The group will also attend training sessions, engage with the local community, support the athletes from the sidelines and be there to congratulate them at victory ceremonies.

The Dakar 2026 YOG will take place from October 31 to November 13, 2026, bringing together around 2,700 young athletes aged up to 17 across three host zones: Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.